OKC police ID alleged hostage taker killed by officers

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma City police have identified the man who was shot and killed by police as he allegedly held a woman hostage in a Sonic Drive-In parking lot.

The suspect who was killed Tuesday night was identified as 60-year-old Elroy Barber, according to a news release.

The two officers who fired on Barber were identified as Sgt. Clint Music, a 10-year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and officer Kevin Kuhlman, a three-year police veteran.

Officers were first called to the area of NE 18th and Kelham. A family member told police that Barber was intoxicated and carrying a gun, and that he left the area in a maroon car before police arrived, according to the news release.

Police located Barber’s vehicle as it pulled into the Sonic at 2217 N. Martin Luther King Blvd. Barber was in the passenger seat and a woman was driving the car.

“The suspect was armed with a handgun. He would not let the victim exit the vehicle and was threatening to shoot her. During the incident the suspect pointed his gun at officers and would not comply with their instructions,” the news release states.

Police evacuated community members from the immediate area, and the Police Department’s Tactical Team was called to the scene.

Officers attempted to negotiate with the suspect for approximately two hours, but Barber would not comply with police instructions or release the victim, the news release states.

Investigators now say the victim was hit by fragments from either a bullet or from the metal frame of the car seat after an officer’s bullet struck the car seat frame.

“The suspect continued to threaten the victim, and two officers discharged their firearms striking the suspect,” the news release states.

Barber died at the scene.

The woman was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Barber had a criminal history that included several assault and battery arrests.